I just watched the piece from the Today show on Mukhtar Mai. For anyone who has followed this story for years, it will be remarkable to finally see her face and hear her voice. The site is:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/32688575#32688575
There will be more on Dateline on Sunday night, NBC, 7:00 PM.
I am disturbed by one particular aspect of the story. According the reporter, the idea of gang rape followed by suicide by the victim is seen as honorable in the traditions of Pakistan, But, what is shown is men praying at a mosque!!! Rapes to recover family honor are not and never have been part of Islam. In fact, it was Mukhtar Mai's local Imam who encouraged her to go to the police and who accompanied her. And yet this reporting of the story seemed to me to be saying that it was Muslim tradition which allowed and encouraged rape as punishment. No wonder we have such a misunderstanding about Islam when a respectable news agency like NBC and a very fine reporter like Ann Curry can report in this fashion.
Please, someone watch this and let me know if I am overreacting.
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I watched the video and was getting ready to say that it may have been an over-reaction because the reporting could not have possibly been spreading something so false, slanderous and ignorant. However, I completely agree with you. The way that the report made it sound, was that the idea of gang rape was embedded in the tradition of their culture, and that is horrible. Clearly, the intention was to try and make Mukhar Mai's accomplishments seem that much greater, and for that, I can understand why it would be reported in such a way, but certainly still not endorse it. Talking about one woman's amazing accomplishments and courage does not have to be seated in a story that encourages the perpetuation of negative stereotypes. That is also a sign of lazy reporting and that the agency could not find a way to portray this amazing story in the best possible light. Sadly, NBC took would should have been a great accomplishment and subtly made it, at least in part, an attack on Muslims.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I agree. I wrote to the Today show and got one of those automatic e-mail responses thanking me for my interest in their program. I also posted a comment on Nick Kristof's blog. I guess I will try to call NBC. I wonder what Dateline will be like on Sunday night. Maybe it will clarify that this is a tribal tradition, not an Islamic tradition. If I am this upset, I imagine that NBC must be hearing from Muslims in the audience.
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